An hour before the Hudson County Freeholder meeting on Thursday, a messenger delivered a two-page typewritten resignation from Freeholder Nidia Davila-Colon.
In this letter, Davila-Colon tendered her resignation as of July 7. She was under pressure to voluntary resign after a federal jury found her guilty on June 23 on charges that she served as a conduit for two alleged bribes in 1999 to then-County Executive Robert Janiszewski.
"My primary priory has always been to do what is best for the people of Jersey City by helping to make their lives better," the longtime public servant wrote. "Unfortunately, as a result of the recent conviction levied against me, I am faced with a most difficult decision: should I resign my position as a Hudson County freeholder or should I continue serving in this capacity pending the outcome of an appeal? It is my opinion and my decision that it would be in the best interest of the people of Jersey City (Davila-Colon represented the 3rd Freeholder District in Jersey City) that I resign as a Hudson County freeholder at the end of the business day on July 7, 2003."
Freeholders approached before and after the meeting said they had been instructed not to comment on the resignation until it became official on July 7.
While the resignation was full of emotion and regret, it is something of an irony that it is Davila-Colon’s own words caught by the FBI in surveillance tapes in 1999 that say it all.
"You know, I said my career is on the line, and his is too. So, if we go, we both go down," Davila-Colon told Dr. Oscar Sandoval during the taped 1999 exchange, according to federal transcripts. "He is not going to get involved with you. He knows that if I go down, he goes down. I go down. Period."
A jury of seven women and five men convicted Davila-Colon on all five counts last week. This tape and others recorded in an investigation designed to snag Janiszewski seemed the most damaging evidence in convicting her.
Davila-Colon was charged with bringing bribes from former county contractor and ex-lover Dr. Oscar Sandoval to Janiszewski while Janiszewski was in office. Sandoval, who has been cooperating with the government, has not been charged.
Davila-Colon’s sentencing, which could be from 3.5 to five years in federal prison, is scheduled for Sept. 29.
"This is a very important verdict in our continuing effort to stem the tide of corruption in New Jersey," said U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie, who praised U.S. Assistant Attorneys Jeffrey Clark and Phillip Kwon, who prosecuted the case.
Christie called the verdict "a major victory" in his office’s war on corruption.
"This verdict reaffirms our belief that if you break the law as a public official, you will be held accountable," Christie said. "We will continue our fight to give New Jersey a clean and honest government at all levels."
Davila-Colon, who once served as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention from New Jersey and has been the longest serving freeholder in Hudson County history, was pronounced guilty after the jury deliberated for a little over 10 hours. Davila-Colon was found guilty on two counts of aiding and abetting extortion and three counts of mail fraud.
Defense attorney Peter Willis, who could not be contacted by press time, was reported as having said, "I’m very disappointed, and it’s the nature of this business that there’s got to be a winner and there’s got to be a loser. I hope that somewhere along the way, Robert Janiszewski gets his justice and Oscar Sandoval gets his."
Willis had argued against the conviction, claiming that Sandoval had "begged and cajoled" Davila-Colon into carrying one bribe to Janiszewski. According to press accounts, Willis said an appeal would be filed.
The tapes revealed a lot
Federal tapes, recorded during a period from Aug. 16, 1999 to Oct. 15, 1999, painted Davila-Colon as a fellow conspirator rather than the victim she attempted to portray herself as, and in the final hours before the ruling, it was the tapes that the jury asked to hear again.
As with all conspiracies, many of the conversations remained vague, not mentioning cash but calling it "the stuff," "the thing," or even "three zeroes."
Sandoval, who cooperated with the government and was responsible for many of the tape recordings used in evidence against Davila-Colon, has not been charged by the government with any wrongdoing.
A FBI agent testified that the doctor voluntarily approached the agency to complain about the corruption.
The bribes, which Sandoval claimed started as extortion in 1997, were given to Janiszewski to secure $2.3 million in contracts for counseling services at two Hudson County facilities.
Janiszewski pleaded guilty last year to tax evasion and extortion, admitting that he took more than $100,000 in bribes during his 13.5 years as Hudson County’s top elected official.
Davila-Colon in her testimony claimed she had been shocked about knowing about Sandoval’s attempts to bribe the county official – but the tapes often revealed her talk as calm, sometimes easing into humor or gossip.
The conversations were played for the jury during the three-week trial, and included a video from a Hudson County Democratic Organization fundraising event at the Harborside Financial Center in Jersey City on the night of Oct. 15, 1999.
Halfway through the three-week trial, Davila-Colon, who had previously denied any knowledge of the contents of envelopes she passed, admitted knowing that the contents of the envelope she passed to Janiszewski on Oct. 15, 1999 contained a $5,000 cash payoff.
While Willis maintained this was the result of entrapment, Clark, the prosecutor, in presenting his case to the jury, claimed that Davila-Colon had a history of bribes, of which the Oct. 15, 1999 was among many.
The tapes revealed hints of such a history.
"I took the thing and gave it to him," Davila-Colon said on a tape recorded Aug. 16, 1999. "The same thing happened in the [Brennan Courthouse] rotunda. I said, can I see you for a minute? I brought him in the back, all the way in the back, behind the post, those posts in the back. Then I went here, put it in his pocket, he kept looking around. There was never a conversation."
The series of tapes include telephone taps as well as recordings made from a device carried by Sandoval. Locations of recordings included an Edgewater restaurant, Casino in the Park in Jersey City, the Harborside Financial Center in Jersey City, and other places. These included tapes from two occasions during which Davila-Colon apparently passed to Janiszewski two white envelopes containing $5,000 each.
These two payoffs were orchestrated by the FBI, who gave them to Sandoval.
"We expected that Dr. Sandoval could pass an envelope to Ms. Colon, and that Ms. Colon could successfully pass it to Mr. Janiszewski," said FBI Special Agent William Sweeney, during the trial.
At the time, Davila-Colon was not the subject of the investigation; Janiszewski was, and the FBI wanted Sandoval to hand the envelopes directly to the county executive.
Davila-Colon apparently refused to be left out, according to the transcripts.
Hopefully it won’t happen again
County Executive Tom DeGise reacted to the federal jury finding last week, saying the county was taking steps to avoid corruption in the future.
"While I feel sympathy for Nidia Colon’s family and friends today, I want all Hudson County residents to understand that the kind of behavior revealed during this trial will not be tolerated on my watch," he said. "My first act after taking the oath of office was to create a County Ethical Standards Board. This September, county government employees will begin attending workshops run by trained professionals outlining how to evaluate possible improper behavior and report it to the Ethical Standards Board for investigation. The message should be clear: Now there is a clear, defined process to report violations of the public trust – and everyone who works in county government will be expected to know it."
Davila-Colon was expected to resign, although local authorities have indicated if she does not, they will move to remove her.
Sen. Bernard Kenny, (D-33rd Dist.), who serves as the county Democratic chairman, has five days after Davila-Colon leaves office to schedule a meeting of Democratic County committee members in the 4th Freeholder District.
Jersey City officials said Davila’s district has a full slate of committee people who could select her replacement until a special election in November.
Nidia did some good
In her resignation letter, Davila-Colon said, "To say that I am personally disappointed and remorseful for my lapse of judgment would be a major understatement… My reputation has been tarnished to a point that the damage is irreparable. My first priory is my undying commitment to my son, Keith, and my family whose love and tireless devotion to me has been my saving grace… I am attempting to put my life back together despite the immense pain I feel for having my trust and my faith betrayed. This road is extremely difficult for me, but I take full responsibly for my actions."
Although very few people wished to comment on Davila-Colon’s term in office, Jersey City Councilman and Hudson County Director of Public Resources Mariano Vega did.
"She did wrong, and the jury did not buy her defense, so she will have to face what is coming to her," Vega said. "But I think back on her career, I think of some of the positive things she did, especially her involvement in volunteerism. She was very active in the Lion’s Club, where she served as president for one year. She was very dedicated to the eyesight program. She helped raise money for eye research."
Vega also noted Davila-Colon’s part in the annual Puerto Rican Parade.
"She was responsible for establishing the banquet before the parade," Vega said. "It was always a successful event. It brought many groups together raised money for scholarships and other things."
Indeed, Davila-Colon’s Freeholder office, although dark, was a testimony to her long career full of public and private photographs depicting her with some of the most important people in the New Jersey governmental world. It also included framed state Assembly and Senate resolutions to her civic accomplishments, including her work for PACO and for the Lion’s Club.
Vega said he hoped Davila-Colon’s ill-advised activities for which she was convicted would not erase the contributions to the community.
"We’re all sorry for her loss of judgment," he said. "It has scarred her career."